DevOps grows up, Opscode preps services, solutions for enterprise use

If DevOps, the software deployment model that maintains that developers and IT operators need to work in close concert to rapidly test and deploy new features, is to really take hold in the enterprise, it needs to get better support and services behind it. At least that’s the thinking behind the new services and solutions announced Tuesday by Opscode.

The Seattle-based company unveiled a new services practice geared to help customers assess their current infrastructure and guide their DevOps implementation, as well as provide on-site consulting and training. And, using some of that services know-how, the company is also rolling out new configuration management, continuous delivery and scale-out web operations solutions using Opscode’s Private Chef and Hosted Chef.

Jay Wampold, Opscode VP of marketing.

“Early in the curve, open source innovators used our open source Chef to build out infrastructure … What’s changed in the last six to eight months is we’ve got major enterprise engagements — they know they need to do [DevOps] but they don’t know how, not just from a business case perspective but there’s a skills gap in the enterprise on how to execute,” Jay Wampold, VP of marketing said in an interview.

In short, DevOps isn’t just for dev or ops people anymore, it needs to be explained to other stakeholders in the enterprise to smooth out adoption wrinkles. That’s why Opscode and DevOps rival Puppet Labs (see disclosure) and others are beefing up training, deployment templates and ancillary offerings.

The long and short of it is in the increasingly dynamic world of technology, “automation is hard and everyone needs help,” said Mary Johnston Turner, research VP of enterprise systems management software for IDC.

“Opscode, like Eucalyptus and Puppet, started taking stuff in the open-source community and tried to create commercial, hardened, revenue-generating software solutions, and what they’re finding — and this is not a negative thing — is that while savvy DIY folks can pick this stuff up and run with it, but once you move into the commercial realm, you really need not just hardened software that’s supported, maintained and updated, but you need enabling services to help the customer get the most value out of it.”

Disclosure: Puppet Labs is backed by True Ventures, a venture capital firm that is an investor in the parent company of this blog, Giga Omni Media. Om Malik, founder of Giga Omni Media, is also a venture partner at True.